Monday, October 24, 2011

My first piece of raku ceramics! The process was so interesting, after bisc firing we painted our pieces with copper oxide glazes. I painted this piece with a turquoise copper oxide glaze, the bright copper is as a result of the fire in the cooling process (cooling in damp sawdust!) burning all the oxide out of the glaze, leaving only the copper. It's science!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

I finally visited Dublin Contemporary yesterday, it was great, a lot of really interesting work from the gamut of contemporary creative disciplines. I particularly enjoyed the exhibition in the RHA, maybe this is partly because I preferred the layout, I found it easier to assimilate the art in the big bespoke gallery spaces than in the small rooms in the main exhibit. Having said that, some people said they loved the feeling of going into each individual contained space, that it felt like stepping into a different universe each time.

Lisa Yuskavage really stood out for me among the painters there. I had come across her images in print and online before but they really didn't prepare me for the reality of her paintings. The work is BEAUTIUFUL, lovely soft tones, very private yet inviting scenes, gorgeous female figures. If you can see her work in the flesh I highly recommend it, it's stunning!

Hopefully i'll get a chance to post more about the exhibit, i've been up the wall since I started back at college!